Shoelace



y 26, 1953 G. c. LESTER 2,639,481

SHOELACE Filed July 18, 1951 Fig,

George 6. Lester INVENTOR.

BY (flaw/y Z? Atlurnejs Patented May 26, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to new and useful im provements and structural refinements in shoe laces and other types of laces which are usually tied in a bow, and the principal object of the invention is to resist untying of the lace.

This object is achieved by providing the lace at longitudinally spaced points thereon with a plurality of protuberances which engage one another as well as side edges of the lace when the latter is tied in a bow and, by virtue of that engagement, untying of the lace is resisted.

Some of the advantages of the invention lie in its extreme simplicity of construction, in its adaptability for use in laces of various types, and in its adaptability to economical manufacture.

With the above more important objects and features in view, and such other objects and features as may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the invention consists essentially of the arrangement and construction of parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoe lace constructed in accordance with this invention; and

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional detail, taken substantially in the plane of the line 2-2 in Figure 1.

Like characters of reference are employed to designate like parts in the specification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the general reference character It designates a conventional shoe lace comprising a narrow web 12 which is provided at longitudinally spaced points thereon with a plurality of protuberances M.

The protuberances are similar in construction, so that a description of one will suffice for all, reference being had to the sectional view illustrated in the accompanying Figure 2.

Each of the protuberances [4 consists of a flexible element such as a length of thread l6, which element is threaded successively through transversely spaced apertures l3 provided in the web, so that the element is disposed above and below the respective upper and lower surfaces of the web and has its ends tied together as indicated at 20.

Accordingly, when the lace is tied in a bow, the protuberances M will engage one another as well (Cl. Z P-143) as the side edges of the web l2, thereby resisting untying.

Needless to say, the protuberances [4 may be provided in spaced relation along the entire length of the lace, or only on the portions of the lace which are intended to be tied together. Moreover, the teachings of the invention may be applied to various other laces apart from shoe laces, for which the invention is primarily intended.

It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will be clearly understood from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly, further description thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

A shoe lace having a plain intermediate portion adapted to be threaded through eyelets of a shoe and a pair of end portions adapted to be tied together in a bow, and a plurality of protuberances provided at longitudinally spaced points on each of said end portions to resist untying, each of said protuberances consisting of a single individual length of thread passing successively and repeatedly through a pair of transversely spaced apertures formed in the shoe lace and having its ends tied together.

GEORGE C. LESTER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,915,571 Gardere June 27, 1923 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 182,673 Great Britain July 13. 1922 

